1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to water turbines, and more particularly to water turbine designs for generating power from slow moving water streams.
2. Prior Art
The use of water turbines to generate power has been known for centuries, and during this period of time many changes and improvements in design have been made. For example, in high velocity water streams such as found in dams, turbines such as disclosed in Reiffenstein U.S. Pat. No. 1,722,158 entitled "Water Power Engine" and Reiffenstein U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,570 entitled "Turbo Machine" can be used.
In slow moving water streams (i.e., less than 15 mph) the problem of generating sufficient power to make the turbine useful is incurred. This has led to designs such as found in Hall U.S. Pat. No. 11,373 entitled "Water Wheel" which attempts to direct the water in the turbine housing more efficiently, as well as, to the design found in my co-pending patent application, indicated above, which increases the velocity of the water in the turbine housing. There is, however, a further need to increase the water action on the turbine wheel to obtain additional power from the water turbine.